


The Greatest Gift

by BriellaBleu



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-14 10:43:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9178171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriellaBleu/pseuds/BriellaBleu
Summary: It's Barry and Iris' first wedding anniversary and though it is defintely not a competition Iris is determined that her gift will beat Barry's for once.





	

Two weeks before her one year wedding anniversary to Barry, Iris started to feel a little…funny. Not funny in a bad way, per say, just different.

She didn’t pay much attention to that feeling, however, because she was focused on the perfect gift for her husband. The sad truth was for as long as she’s known Barry Allen he’s been one-upping her in the gift department. Their very first Christmas together, when he came to live with them after his mother died, she saved her allowance for weeks to get him a chemistry set. Turns out his great Aunt Lucy (who he didn’t even know, by the way) had the same idea and sent him the exact same set. Since Barry had already decided that Iris’s gift was the most important and therefore he was going to save hers for last that meant she had to watch in horror as he unwrapped a replica of the chemistry set she had excitedly clutched to her chest. She couldn’t stop the tears that instantly sprang to her eyes as her face fell especially when she saw his face light up with happiness. Selfishly, she wanted to be the person that put that smile on his face so she, for a moment, felt an irrational hate towards this great Aunt Lucy that came out of nowhere to ruin her Christmas. To his credit though Barry’s face still lit brighter than the Christmas tree he was sitting by when he was able to pry the gift from Iris. From the way he acted you’d think he was unveiling the Hope Diamond instead of a chemistry set he just unwrapped about two minutes ago.

In comparison, he brought her a bracelet that had a heart with best friend etched in it (he had a round key chain to match) the latest Lemony Snicket novel (he knew how much she loved the cleverness of the series) and Build-a-Bear Angel Bear. Iris squealed happily when she saw her gifts but her mood instantly sobered when she saw the matching chemistry sets flanking Barry.

“I’ll get you something else,” she had promised but Barry wouldn’t hear of it. In fact he told her that his chemistry set was the best gift ever and he was happy he was lucky enough to have two.

So that set the tone of their gift-giving from then on.

No matter what she got for Barry he always got something better. Literally always. It was always something more expensive or more meaningful. When she splurged and bought him a pair of very practical rain boots he needed, he bought her a super expensive leather jacket that she had been eyeing but would never dream about asking her Dad for. Their senior year in high school she saved her money all YEAR long to send him to his favorite Science camp as a graduation gift and he in turn saved money all year long to help her father send her to Paris for a week. The year she got him a SUPER expensive microscope that she knew he desperately wanted, he had a replica of her mother’s wedding band made for her. When she got him a new (state of the art, mind you) designer wallet that cost almost her entire pay check, he got them a beautiful apartment.

For almost 20 years Iris has been fighting this losing battle. But not this year. Not anymore.

So, with that goal in mind, she had been planning and planning and planning some more to make sure she got Barry the perfect one year anniversary present. So perfect in fact, that it wouldn’t matter what he got her or how much he spent he wouldn’t beat her.

Not that it was a competition, of course.

A week later Iris sat at her desk at CCPN and hummed happily to herself as she checked a tracking number online to make sure the package that she ordered was on schedule. Once she got the confirmation she needed she went back to the notes she was organizing for the headlining story she was writing about corruption in the mayor’s office. She was in the process of reviewing all of the quotes she had gathered when she heard a sharp rapping at her door. When she looked up there was a large bouquet of roses with legs knocking at her door frame.

“Come in?” She said in confusion but it quickly melted away once the walking roses stepped into her office and revealed themselves to actually be a flower delivery man.

“Mrs. West-Allen?” The delivery man asked in pleasant voice, “Happy Anniversary.”

“But it’s not—“ Iris started as he gently laid the flowers down on her desk but she didn’t get to finish because the delivery man gave her a jaunty wink and quickly exited her office.

“--our anniversary.” She finished out loud to herself.

Iris shook her head as she gently turned the two dozen, blood red, long-stem roses around to get a good look at them. Barry may be week early but his taste was still impeccable. Iris couldn’t help the low hum of appreciation at the beautiful bouquet of flowers. She couldn’t see a damn thing else in her office but with an arrangement like that, who cares?

Iris picked up her phone to call Barry, who was currently in Starling City helping Oliver, to thank and tease him a little bit about his early anniversary present. As she was dialing her phone her gaze fell on a white card nestled in the red roses and she pulled it out. The pristine white card was sealed with a red heart sticker and when she flipped it over she raised her eyebrows in surprise at the large glittery '7' covering the front of the envelope. 

"What did you do Barry Allen..." Iris murmured to herself as she broke the seal to the envelope and pulled out a folded piece of paper inside. 

 

 _For the seven days leading to our anniversary_  
_here are the top seven reasons I love you._  
_#7--The way you move..._

Also inside the envelop was a small classic iPod and a pair of headphones. After turning the iPod on she slipped the white earbuds in her ears and pressed play. The sound of James Taylor's "Something In The Way She Moves" filled her ears and she couldn't stop the swell of emotion that over took her.

"Damn it Barry." Iris said to herself as she fanned the card back and forth in front of her face in hopes of drying the tears that were gathering in her eyes. 

She was losing. Already.

The next few days were an assault on her senses. Day 6 was a puzzle that Barry had specially made from their wedding photo. His #6 reason for loving her was that she was the missing piece of his heart. 

Day 5's gift was a replica of the bracelet he had given her from their very first Christmas, only this time instead of 'best friend' it read: 'To the Love of My Life'. His #5 reason for loving her was because first she defined the meaning of friendship to him and then later on, love. 

Day 4's gift was a Quartet. An actual singing quartet that came to her office to serenade her with a 'Ribbon in the Sky'. His #4 reason was because she was his ribbon in the sky and he was hers. 

Day 3's gift was a cookie bouquet that featured red hearts and big bright yellow smiley faces. His #5 reason for loving her was how unbelievably sweet she was.

About an hour after receiving the bouquet Iris was sitting on the couch in her office and sharing half a smiley face with her best friend, Linda Park. 

"Now, I'm not saying that Barry is better at this than you are..." Linda began as she popped a part of the cookie in her mouth, "but I legitimately do not know how you can top this."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Lin." Iris said glumly as she licked at the buttercream icing off her cookie.

"I'm just messing with you," Linda teased, "You could give that man a dirty fork from your kitchen wrapped in a used paper towel and he would act like it was priceless jewel." 

"I know..." Iris admitted, "but for once I wanted to give the best gift, you know? To take his breath away and make him speechless." 

"Um, girl do you not remember the way you looked in your wedding dress? Trust me, you've already taken his breath away." 

Iris smiled fondly at the memory. "I did look good in that dress, didn't I?" 

"You were EVERYTHING in that dress!" Linda said as she reached over and gave Iris a high five as the two laughed. "Stop stressing and let that man shower you with gifts." 

Iris popped the rest of the cookie in her mouth as she stood to head back to her desk. When she did she suddenly felt very warm and very, very dizzy. She staggered slightly and Linda jumped up to grab her arm. 

"Hey, Iris, you good?" Linda asked worriedly as she helped steady her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Iris reassured her, even though she felt anything but, "I think I just stood up too fast." 

"Okay, why don't you sit down and I'll go grab you some water, okay?" 

Iris gave a small smile and nodded her head in reassurance. Linda gave her one more long look before hurrying out of the office. Iris shook her head gently in hopes of clearing some of the dizziness but all she did was succeed in making it worse. She gripped tightly at her desk as she tried to shuffle around it but even the slightest movement made her feel as if she was on a boat in the middle of a hurricane being rocked violently back and forth. She gripped at her stomach and fought back the rise of nausea in the back of her throat. Beads of sweat started to pop on Iris forehead and she prayed she wouldn't be sick in her office. She looked down at her desk and she saw one of her cookie smiley faces grinning up her and the last conscious, sadistic thought she had was that she almost hoped Barry's cookies had given her food poisoning because that would defintely be a mark against him on the gift giving scoreboard. 

Some time later Iris' eyes opened and she immediately shut them against the harsh florescent lighting. Although her head felt groggy it still only too her a second to realize she was laying flat on her back. She was slightly disoriented but she fought to sit up. 

"Hey...no, wait, sweetie, be careful." Iris heard a voice say as she was pushed gently back. "You gave us a hell of a scare, girl. Chill out for a second."

"Linda?" Iris asked in a groggily, "whe--where am I?"

"Central City Memorial Hospital. You fainted, and scared the shit out of me in the process." 

"Fainted?" Iris asked as she started to sit up again, "I've never fainted in my life--"

"Well, there's a first time for everything. Now lay back!" There was faint laughter in Linda's voice but it was tinged with an unmistakable amount of worry. So much so that Iris sat back against the pillows without anymore fight. 

"So what happened?" She asked after a few moments of awkward silence, "was it the cookies?" 

"The cookies?" Linda asked as she looked at her in confusion, "I ate more than you did, and I'm fine. Why would you think it was the cookies?"

"Wishful thinking..." Iris mumbled under her breath before saying, "You didn't try and call Barry did you? Because he's working and Oliver needs his help. I don't want him rushing back here just because I got a little light-headed and supposedly passed out."

"A little light-headed? Supposedly passed out??? Iris, you looked like literally someone sucked all of the life out of you. I went to go get you some water and when I came back I found you crumpled on the ground! You scared the shit out of me! Of course, I called Barry. As i turns out though he is actually working, because I couldn't get a hold of him and I didn't think leaving him the message, 'ummm, Barry I found your wife in a heap on the floor in her office' was a good idea."

"I'm sorry, Linda." Iris said quietly, "I didn't mean to freak you out." 

"Well, don't do it again." 

"Now, that I can promise." Iris answered with a laugh, "So, what's going with me?" 

"I have no earthly idea," Linda responded honestly, "I'm not your next of kin or a HIPAA disclosures so they weren't about to tell me anything. The took some blood and ran some other tests but the nurse said the Doctor should be in here soon." 

Just as the words left Linda's mouth the door to her room swung open and a middle-aged attractive male doctor sauntered into the room. 

"Hello, Mrs. West-Allen, my name is Dr. Hewitt and I want to go over the results of some of the tests we ran." 

Iris looked nervously at Linda before asking, "Do you know what's wrong with me Dr. Hewitt?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do, Mrs. West-Allen ..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Day 2's gift was Barry Allen in the flesh. 

Iris was brought out of a fitful sleep but the feel of warm, firm, familiar arms wrapped tightly around her as pair of wind chilled lips brushed lazy kisses across her bare neck. 

"Barry...." She murmured sleepily as she brought her hand up to run it through is tousled hair. 

"Mmmmm...I'm here baby, go back to sleep." 

"Ok.” She mumbled as she felt him gently grab her hand and place a kiss to the palm before bringing it around with his as he encircled her waist. 

She was sleep again moments later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Do you know what today is? It's our Anniversary..." 

Iris smiled into her pillow as Barry sleep-roughened voice crooned Tony Toni Tone's 'Anniversary' in her ear. 

She turned in his arms until she was facing him and she burrowed her face in his neck. "Did you enjoy yesterday's gift?" Iris felt more than heard Barry's question and she nipped at his neck with her teeth in response. 

Yesterday's gift was Barry. Barry across the bed. Barry against the wall. Barry in the shower...

"Mmmmm....yes, I enjoyed it very much." Iris responded as she tugged at his earlobe, "are you ready for your gift now?" 

"What--no!" Barry exclaimed as he jerked slightly back from her, "I still have one more gift, the countdown isn't done yet." 

"How can you possibly..." Iris trailed off in a huff as she pulled away from Barry and sat up in frustration. "How are you not done yet?!? How can I give my gift if every five seconds you've got something new up your sleeve?"

"I--I...ummm...."Barry stuttered as he shrugged his shoulder in exaggerated innocence. 

"Ugh!" Iris blew out an exaggerated and frustrated breath as she flung the covers back off of her naked form and stomped into the bathroom as she heard Barry's voice filled will laughter calling after her. 

 

An hour later she was in her office finishing up the corruption story that she didn't get to complete since she took an unexpected day off work to welcome her husband home. To her co-workers she was still fighting a mysterious illness so for the most part they left her alone even though every now and again she would look to find someone giving her a sympathetic look as they walked by their office. It wasn’t until Linda stopped by that she realized not everybody thought she was sick. 

 

"Hey bitch." Linda said as she walked into Iris' office and plopped down on her couch. "I would ask if you're feeling better but instead I'll just ask, how's Barry?" 

Iris grinned at her friend as she finished typing the last sentence of her article, "He's good...amazing actually. Toe-curling am--"

"OKAY!" Linda yelled and she held up her hand,"I don't need details.”

Iris laughed as she emailed the finished article to her editor. "Sadly, since I'm still feeling under the weather, " she coughed a little for emphasis, "Scott suggested that once I submitted this article I should go back home and get some rest." 

"Rest, my ass." Linda said with a snort, "So what did Barry think about your gift?" 

"I haven't given it to him yet," Iris answered in an exasperated tone as she shut down her computer, "I wanted to give it to his this morning, but he said he had one more gift to give me first." 

"The nerve of that man!" Linda said sarcastically, "How dare he shower you with gifts to show how much he loves you?" 

Iris shot her friend a withering looking before replying, "Of course I love and appreciate everything he does, but I can't help but feel like that I'm lacking. Like, how is it he can still find the most amazing perfect gifts? He's been doing this shit since we were eleven Lin, it's not fair." 

"From what you told me about your gift I'm sure he's going to love it." 

"I know..." Iris said quietly as she started sliding some notes she needed for an upcoming story into her messenger bag. 

"So, um, have you told him what the doctor said yet?" 

Iris movements faltered as her hands started to shake slightly. 

"No--not yet." 

"Iris..."

"Tomorrow." Iris answered firmly, "tonight is about us and that's all I want to focus on. We'll have plenty of time to talk about...other things." 

Linda gave her a long unreadable look, but she just nodded in response. 

Iris cleared her throat and zipped her bag before giving her friend a forced grin, "Wish me luck?" 

"Of course," Linda said as she stood to walk out of the office with Iris. "But you know you're not going to need it right? Your gift is amazing, nothing Barry can do will top it." 

Sweet as Linda is she couldn't have been more wrong. 

A half an hour later Iris stood in her living room with Barry, Cisco, and a very large blue portal. 

"Um...babe, what the hell is this?" Iris asked incredulously as she made sure not to stand too close to the swirling mass.

"This is your gift!" Barry said carefully with a quick glance at Cisco who just gave him a shrug in response as if to say 'this wasn't my idea, don't look at me.' 

"A breach is my gift? What am I going to do with a breach in my living room?" 

Cisco gave a snort of laughter but he choked it off quickly when Barry shot him a dirty look. 

Barry came up to her and grabbed her hands gently before bringing them to her hands to kiss them. 

"So, remember when we were kids there was that one Disney movie that you loved above all else? And the summer between 6th and 7th grade you watched it every single day? And you made me swear never to tell anybody because you thought you were too old to still be watching Disney movies?"  
"Yeah...I remember. It was Aladdin." Iris answered, still confused by what that had to do with the breach. 

"Do you remember why you loved it so much?" Barry asked softly. 

Iris' eyes welled up with tears as she recalled the memory she tried to keep buried. Aladdin was the movie she was watching the last time she was with her mother. The last clear, vivid, good memory she had with her mother at the time was of the two of them sitting on the couch together singing, "A Whole New World." 

A tear streaked down Iris cheek and Barry quickly brought his hand to cradle her face. His thumb gently brushed away the tear as he leaned in for a quick, timid kiss. 

"I didn't mean to make you cry," he said regretfully, "this is a happy gift, I promise." 

"You're not taking me back there are you?" Iris asked in a slightly panicked voice, "I love you so much Barry, but I--I--can't do that." 

"No! God, no!" Barry blurted out, "I would never do that...God, I'm completely screwing this up. Let me start over." 

"Okay." Iris said as she blew out a deep breath, "I'm ready." 

"I know how much you loved that movie, and what it meant so I wanted to give you a little taste of that." 

"A taste of what?" 

"A whole new world..." 

Iris stared at Barry for a second before the meaning behind his words, coupled with the breach finally hit her like a ton of bricks.

"I hate you so much Barry Allen." She said on a choked sob as she rushed into his arms. She heard him chuckle as he circled her waist with his arms and squeezed. 

"I love you too Iris West-Allen." He murmured into her hair. 

They held each other a long second longer before Barry finally pulled away from her slightly. "You ready?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye. 

She nodded excitedly and let him lead her towards the swirling mass in their living room. 

"Okay, so here's the deal kids," Cisco began as if he was the Ringmaster for Barnum and Bailey's Circus, "You've got 4 hours to explore to your heart's content. Don't break anything or anybody..." He gave Barry a pointed look,

"And I'll get you back here with no problem." 

"So you're just going to vibe us somewhere?" Iris asked.

"Vibe?" Cisco said in a slightly insulted tone, "No, Princess. I am the genie and this," he pointed towards the breach, "is your magic carpet. Aladdin here is about to show you a shining, shimmering splendid new world." 

Iris smiled sweetly at Cisco and couldn't resist going over to give him a quick peck on the cheek. His skin reddened slightly at the contact and a small smile quirked his lips.

"You ready, babe," Barry asked as he outstretched his hand towards her.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5 hours later Iris snuggled deeper in her husband's arms. Outside the sound of a soft rain beat steadily across their windows making Iris feel even more deliciously drowsy. 

"How did you like Atlantis?" 

"Mmmmm...I loved it, so beautiful." She murmured sleepily, "I especially loved that since Earth 2 Barry and Iris are such frequent visitors we got the hook up. I wish I would have gotten to meet them though." 

"Next time, I promise." 

"Mmmmmm....." Iris murmured again as felt herself drifting off to sleep, right when she was reaching the point where she was about to be dead to the world she heard her husband ask cautiously, 

"So not to be that person but um...do I get a gift, or not?"

At that question Iris eyes popped open and she sat up quickly. "Shit! " She said loudly as she patted the bed trying to locate her silk robe. The search was futile though and instead she came across the white dress shirt that she unceremoniously ripped off of Barry once they made it back home. 

"I'll be right back!" She said as she scurried off bed while trying to secure Barry's shirt around her. She went into the guest bedroom and found the white and silver wrapped box she had hidden in the closet. 

Once she got back in the bedroom she found their bed empty so she went into the living room and found that in the time it took her to walk to their guest bedroom he had pushed the furniture aside, set out a large plush blanket with decorative pillows scattered around it. There were tiny tea lit candles artfully placed around the room and in the middle of the blanket was a bottle of champagne as well as a bowl of strawberries and cream.

Iris looked around the room and burst into laughter. "Did you just set the mood to receive your gift???" 

"Har, har, har..." Barry said sarcastically as he took the large box from her and helped her get comfortable on the blanket. "Actually I was setting the mood for my thank you to you for my gift."

"Oh really?" Iris murmured as she went in for a kiss, "well in that case, let gets that's gift opening on the road then, shall we?" 

Before Barry opened his gift, he popped open the bottle of the champagne and poured two glasses. He handed one to Iris before lifting the other in his hand and saying, "To you Mrs. West-Allen, you are the love of my life, my reason for being. Thank you for loving me." 

Iris eyes shone with tears as she leaned in to accept a tender kiss from Barry. She clinked her glass with his and brought the flute to her lips. The bubbles tickled her nose and she felt an uncomfortable twinge in her belly almost instantly. She pulled the glass away from her face and stared at it suspiciously.  
Beside her Barry tore excitedly into the fancy wrapping paper that she took almost an hour painstakingly wrapping. 

Finally, after a few unnecessary comments about the sheer amount of ribbon, Barry located his gift. He carefully unwrapped it from it's protective tissue paper and stared at it in wonder.

"Babe...?" He asked looking up at her.

The large cherry-wood wall clock gleamed dully in the muted candelight. The numbers on the clock were large and wrote in a cursive script. The time on the clock read 6:52 and it always would. 

"Turn it over." Iris instructed. 

Barry flipped the clock over and revealed a poem etched into the smooth surface: 

**The day I met you time stood still  
** **I thought I was just meeting my best friend**  
**But in reality I met my soul mate, my other half.**  
**Today marks the one year anniversary of the day I told you "I do"**  
**I do promise that I'll always be your home and you'll always be mine**  
**I do promise to love you with every fiber of my being for all time**  
**I do promise that I will love you as much 50 years from now as I did when I said I do at 6:52.**  
**Love Always, Iris**

Barry rubbed his hand across the engraved words one more time before turning the clock back over so he could see the face. 

"Wow..."he said in a gruff, tear-roughened voice, "I don't know what to say right now. I....thank you, Iris. I love it...I love you." 

Iris felt her face warm with pleasure at the sight of her husband's obvious awe and joy at his gift. Selfishly that feeling was all she wanted, and she had been waiting for. She smiled at Barry as he poured himself another glass of champagne. They clinked their glasses together one more time and both took deep drinks. 

As soon as the bubbles hit the back of Iris throat she felt as if she was going to throw up. Her eyes bugged as she realize what she just drank and she hastily spit it back into the glass. She sat the glass down on the floor and grabbed a napkin from beside the strawberries and she started wiping at her tongue. 

"Um...Iris, are you okay?" Barry asked worriedly as he sat his clock off to the side, "Is there something wrong with the champagne?" 

"No?" Iris said evasively as she stood up and grabbed her glass. She took it into the kitchen and poured the offensive liquid down the sink. Iris felt Barry's warmth against her back and she held her breath waiting for the inevitable questions she wasn't quite ready to answer yet.

"Is everything okay? Are you feeling alright?" 

"Yes?" Iris answered as she turned to face him and she tried not to cringe at the fact that once again she sounded as if she were answering his question with a question. 

"Iris..."Barry began worriedly but she just shook her head at him.

"Not now, okay? I just want to enjoy our day. This is about us, Barry, you and me. Okay?" 

Barry stared down at her for a minute longer before finally his eyes softened and he said, "Okay." 

She grabbed him by the hand and led him back towards their makeshift picnic. When they were almost there she dropped his hand and turned fully towards him and started walking backwards as she unbuttoned his shirt. 

“You still hungry from some strawberries and cream?" She asked seductively as she let the shirt hang open. 

"Oh, I'm defintely hungry for something, "Barry answered with a growl as he yanked her towards him by the open folds of his shirt. 

Her squeals of delight were the only sounds reverberating through their apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
**12:01**

Iris glanced at the large red numbers on the alarm clock as she carefully eased herself out of Barry's loose embrace. She once again patted the bed looking for her robe before finally giving up and putting Barry's (now horribly wrinkled) dress shirt back on. 

She tip-toed into the bathroom and ran cold water in the sink before splashing some on her face. It was a new day, it was not longer her and Barry's anniversary. That little bubble that there were living in all day yesterday that was all about them was about to be popped. 

She made her way back into their bedroom and she wasn't the least bit surprised to find Barry awake and sitting up waiting for her. She didn't say a word as she made her way to the bed and crawled into the empty space beside him. 

Iris grabbed one of Barry's hands and brought it to the top of her thigh. His hand curled around it instinctively and Iris had to ignore the slight twinge of pleasure he constantly made her feel whenever he put his hands on her. She instead focused on the short, clean, nail bed of his left ring finger and she played with his fingers slightly even as her vision was blurred by tears. It was until a hot tear plopped on his hand that Barry started asking questions. 

"Okay, Iris, you're freaking me out, what's going on?" The tone of Barry's raspy voice was melodic but Iris could still detect the underlying hint of panic. 

"I probably, defintely should have told you this sooner but...well...I fainted the day before yesterday."

Iris cringed slightly as she watched Barry's eyes widen impossibly large and his face redden with shocked anger. "You fainted? How? Why? Did you get checked out? Did you hit your head? How do you feel now? Do we need to go to to the hospital?"

"Babe...I'm fine." Iris assured him, "I've already been to the hospital and everything came back good." 

"Then why did you faint?" Barry asked not looking convinced that everything was fine. 

Iris opened to say the words but she realized that for some inexplicable reason she couldn't. So instead she unbuttoned the bottom buttons on Barry's shirt and she grabbed his hand and guided it into the shirt and over her taut stomach. 

"What..." Barry questioned breathlessly as Iris watched expectantly for the play of emotions to cross his face. First it was confusion, then a twinge of fear, followed by a excitement and finally happiness. Blinding happiness. So blinding Iris was sure his smile could light Times Square all on it's own. He lifted her up and brought her over until she was straddling his lap. He opened the shirt and placed both of his hands on her flat stomach. He eyes continued to gleam with wonder as his thumbs gently stroked the skin right under her breasts. 

"You're pregnant." He whispered. 

"I'm pregnant...the doctor thinks about 8 or 9 weeks." She confirmed as tears started to leak out of the corner of her eyes..

"We're going to have a baby?" Barry asked louder with a laugh as he continued to stare at her stomach in awe. 

Barry reached up and gently grasped Iris' face with his right hand. He pulled it down until their foreheads were resting against each other and they were sharing the same breath. 

"We're going to have a baby," He stated again, quieter and more intimate. 

"We're going to have a baby." She whispered back.

They stayed like that for several minutes before finally Barry pulled back as little to ask her, "Why did you want to wait? Why didn't you tell me this as soon as you found out?"

"Because I wanted our first anniversary to be about us, and only us. Besides a baby announcement would just overshadow the gift giving...and my gift was epic." She answered with a wink. 

"Unbelievable." Barry said with a snort as he laid his head back on the headboard and laughed. "Let me just say, for the record, that you're carrying our child which means you automatically win, no contest. Forever and always. I promise you there is nothing on this earth my precious than that. 

You've been the girl of my dreams since we we're 11 and I've been trying to play catch up ever since. Nobody makes me as happy as you do, or as settled, or as at peace. These gifts are my way of showing you how much you mean to me, and they're still not enough. You're the greatest gift Iris, don't ever forget that. You win." 

"No..." she whispered and covered the hand that was still on her tummy with hers, "we made this baby together. This is our greatest gift. We win."


End file.
